Los Angeles joins fight for Lucas museum

Bad enough that San Diego may have edged out San Francisco for the 2017 America's Cup. Now, Los Angeles is trying to horn in on the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum.

The filmdom feint comes courtesy of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who seeks to capture the attention of the "Star Wars" creator via tweets with the hashtag #WhyLucasInLA (sample tweet: "The Force is strongest in Los Angeles!").

On the off chance that a crowdsourced courtship launched Tuesday isn't enough, Garcetti last week sent a solicitation to Lucas and his wife, Mellody Hobson. It runs to all of 48 words; while we're on the subject of numbers, Lucas pledged to spend $700 million of his personal fortune when seeking to place his collection of illustrative and digital art at Crissy Field in the Presidio.

But the first-term mayor is serious, Molly Fowler of his press office said Wednesday. He also has a potential site. It's the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, former home to several professional sports teams and close by Lucas' alma mater, the University of Southern California. According to Fowler, the city is prepared to tear down the 55-year-old facility if Lucas wants.

Garcetti is contending with at least two other big mayors: Chicago's Rahm Emanuel, who formed a blue-ribbon committee to select a potential museum site for Lucas on Lake Michigan, and our very own Ed Lee, who would love for Lucas to make his museum's home on the Embarcadero seawall lot that was part of the proposed Golden State Warriors' complex.

What nudged Garcetti toward his last-reel lunge, given that the other two cities have, you know, actual proposals on the table?

"It feels right and natural to the mayor that Mr. Lucas and Ms. Hobson should locate their museum in Los Angeles, the city of storytellers," Fowler said.

The reaction from Lucas spokesman David Perry? You guessed it: "We are grateful for everyone's enthusiasm for this project. The Museum team is considering and analyzing its options, but will not comment on any potential sites or cities at this time."